Page 16 of Heart of Dawn
Okay. Yes. Good plan. Do not allow my fear to distract me. Focus, be at one with fabulous ideas. The stars handed me this opportunity to survive. They cannot throw their light on everything. Some of the work must come from me.
I closed my eyes, dumping my terror like a bucket of chum to the scythe-headed sharks of the Crispin Seas in eastern Faery. Yes. Let them feed on the fear, leaving me free to be a genius.
Well, to come up with a plan at least.
I didn’t have much to bargain with. No riches, no magic gifts that might help a yeti. Aside from healing, but she didn’t seem to be hurt.
Hmmm.
How about a lie? Tell her I knew the king and?—
Nope. Basil already tried that crap with Lance. Talk about an old, dusty idea. Anyway, I wasn’t particularly good at fibbing under pressure. I’d quickly fluster myself, making matters worse.
I drew a deep breath, my mind a jungle of scattered thoughts.
They turned to Miko, an image of him quickly forming to sexy life.
No, no, no. As much as I loved thinking of him, he’d distract me, amplify the sadness of our distance.
My brain had other ideas, weaving together the Miko of the day we first met. Sort of. He stood there in his black cargo pants and stab-vest, his big arms folded as they often were, exuding grumpy energy. Only, he smiled. My goodness. Whenever he smiled, it gave his tawny-beige skin its own special glow.
I felt our entangled hearts, sensed his love and his strength as if he were here with me. Even smelled his earthy, spicy scent.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
Stupid brain! Now the tears welled. I ached to run my fingers through his short black hair, fall into his incredible dark gaze, trace a finger across the stubble on his square jawline.
“I miss you,”I said within this imagined world. “I miss you so much.”
He continued to smile, my mate right there yet a million miles away.
“Oh, Miko…”I opened my eyes, unable to stand it.
Why did the mind have to play such cruel tricks sometimes?
Back to watching the ceiling, languishing in the awful silence and the warmth that became stifling. Full of dread, without a plan, totally lost.
Oh, Miko…
“Orion?”
His voice rolled through my mind, a stab of pain in my chest penetrating the numbness.
“Miko?”I answered. This couldn’t be real. Another trick. Another trick. Another?—
“Is that really you?”he asked.
“By the stars!”
“Ori?”he said, using his cute nickname for me.
“Stop it,”I chided myself. “Just stop it.”
Tears escaped. I didn’t feel them trickle down my cheeks, but I experienced the sorrow of my mind’s games.
“Leave me alone. Stop doing this to me.”
